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Capital Commenta Senate Probing NJ Utilities

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By Jamrs R. Hurley HAVE YOU ever opened your electric bill, moaned over the latest rate hike and wondered just how much it will cost you to light or heat your home next year - or in 10

years 9

.Have you asked yourself just*what the utilities do with

ail the money you send them? -s

Well, the$e same questions are beirtg asked by a Senate

committee studying the regulation of New Jersey utilities.

The Senate Energy'and Environment Committee is

holding a series of hearings to determine whether you. the utility customer, are getting your money's worth and how

to prepare for the energy needs of the future It is’a complex assignment. Several major issues must

be confronted

^ Should the state continue to allow utilities to build new generating plants or should the empty^sis be shifted to conservation? > Will conservation be sufficient to guarantee an adequate supply of power in the future? Should utilities be required to provide incentives to customers to save energy, such as offering rebates for reductions in use or low-cost loans for installing

insulatidn?

WHAT SHOULD BE the role of the Board of Public Utilities in regulating the industry? Should the board just rule on the merits of rate hikes or proposals for new facilities as it does now or should it set energy policy? * And should utilities be allowed to continue to charge customers for the cost of building new generating plants before the work is completed'’ New Jersey consumers have been paying hundreds of million^ of dollars for nuclear generating projects started by utilities and later abandoned. For instance. Public Service Electric & Gas spent KjTO millionon its Hope Creek II nuclearj plant before canceling the project and Jersey Central Power & Light poured $142 million into jis now abandoned Forked River generating station The utilities contend that they could not afford to build new generating stations if their customers did not help finance the construction in progress And they say customers will save in the long run because the utility is not forced to bqrrow huge amounts of money at high in-

terest rjites.

THE STATE l^ilic Advocate argues that the customer is losing out because the practice encourages utilities to

readers forum

I •

Saving Money: ‘Filthy’ Beaches bv-a Beach Observer An article printed in the Sefit. H Herald, advised Avalorj residents of a beach clean-up savings of S2.83JI.83 from June I to July 31. No doubt this money was saved. I base this on the beaches' appearances, which was filthy jl)uring the summer; months, I walked the beaches regularjy from 20th to at least 30th Sts., watching the borough employees with their plastic trash bags.. After,'followed them for 10 to 12 blocks, the beaches /'were still full of debris, consisting of cups, straws, wrappers, food, broken'glass, etc. The trash bags, after this distance, were less than a quarter full When ploughing of tht’ beaches were done, the broken glass and other articles were only hidden under the sand's surface, not cleaned up or removed Many people who have come to Avalon for years and those who reside here are thoroughly outraged It is easy to save money when you arc not paying to have the job done properly- As I see it the labor .cost of $1,765.00 during the time period mentioned, was a waste. Mr. Corrick and - Mr Bednarek should be admonished, not congratulated The people of Avalon must speak but concerning the poor condition of our beaches and the waste of ^finances The writer, on Avn/on resident, prefers tp remain anonymous i

overbuild. The advocate contends customers are being required to act as investors in » project they have no control

over.

Other issues undoubtedly will emerge as the hearings continue. „ , , , This study into the future of the state's utilities is long

overdue^

It should provide some answers to the questions con sumers raise every time they are hit with another rate hike And the finding should better prepare us to deal with future energy needs. James R.^Hurley is a state senator representing this

district.

The State We're In N.J. Has AjLot

•It!

Going For

"Oh That 7 That's Fred We re Just Trying To Keep The Dust Oft Him Till The Football Strike Is Over "

by David F. Moore We keep hearing nasty things about this state we’re in. Either politiciaijs call us “cancer alley" or some comedian makes arch innuendoes about the former Secaucus pig farms or the unpleasant views from the New Jersey Turnpike. Sometime we should take stock and renew our knowledge aboDT what a good state we’re in. True, we are the most densely populated of the 50 states, with more cars and roads per capita than any other. But for all that, we can rejoice in the fact that 54 percent of our state is still forested. And that in the Finelands, it contains the biggest wildland in "BosWash" (the giant city between Boston and Washingtoni. accounting for a fifth of our state's area. THEN THERE'S our state park system, one of the best.in the whole country. In addition, some of our county park systems are as good as or better than some state park systems elsewhere! The diversity of New Jersey landscape (and seascape) is really impressive. Down in the Carolinas the three basic geological areas cover many hundreds of miles on

an east-west basis. They are the Atlantic coastal plain, with its sandy shoreline topography and turf; the Piedmbnt belt, rich farmlands with gently rolling hills, £nd finally the Appalachian highlands, the surviving backbone of a once mighty mountain range. HERE IN New Jersey those three regions are squeezed down to fit the narrowness of our state. The Atlantic coastal plain includes the Pinelands and the flat reaches northward along our Atlantic shoreline. The Piedmont is represented in Hunterdon and Somerset, aqd the Appalachiari highlands /in Warren and Sussex counties. Speaking of our shoreline^ it is our single most important recreational resource, bringing billions oCdolIars of income' to the state each year. That's the-aroa, too. where tidal noshes and inlets bring theii own subtle beauty, commned with essential food and shelter for a myriad of bird and fish species. * OUR COASTLINE, has suffered frbm development to the point that relatively few stretches of natural dunes and ocean vistas remain intact. But there are

outstanding monuments to our earlier battles for survival in the forms of lighthouses at Cape May, Absecon, Barnfgat and Sandy Hook. From Cape May Lighthouse north along the Delaware River to High Point, New Jersey's “western shoreline" presents a cross section of the three geological regions I mentioned before. Northward from sandy, pine-studded plains along Delaware,Bay, virtually an inland sea, the bucolic shoreline reflects agricultural pursuits in sway for centuries. AT TRENTON, ridges of rock across the Delaware River roughly mark the end of tidal action. This is where the Delaware turns into a free-flowing river for the rest of its alignment along New Jersey. This too is where the topography turns more tumbled and the river flows between red sandstone cliffs of the Piedmont. A drive from Cape May to High Point, not all of its possible beside the river, unfolds a magnificent variety of scenery. From Treijton northward through

Hunterdon County, especially, one can enjoy striking views of a New Jersey which few “outlanders" would recognise. LESS VISIBLE is the dramatic cleanup of Delaware River water quality being achieved by an orderly program of the Delaware "River Basin Commission. Once jiopelessly befouled, the river is now considered swimmable from Trenton northward, and virtually pristine north of the Delaware Water Gap, the scenic pinnacle* of our state's western shore. This cleanup is reflected in a resurgence of the annual shqd runs, and to a lesser extent by striped bass and even sturgeon Onshore along the Delaware, riverfront cities like Camden. Burlington. Lambertville and others are refurbishing their historic structures. Fishing and canoeing are popular river sports, even "tubing" on inflated inner tubes. Our state has lots going for it! David F. Moore is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

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Making Jelly The Old Way

By Clare Campbell AUTUMN IS here and all of us would be wise to savor each lovely day. " The sour gums are turning red and the goundsel .is fluffy-white along our Parkway and Stone Harbor boulevard. Monarch butterflies are planning their flight to the gulf and our sea goldenrod tufts show a glint that would make croesus green with envy. Swallows are on the wires by the thousands, congregating for their pilgrimages to the southlands. Hundreds of handsome sights are here for the appreciative eye. AND IT'S CHICKEN GRAPE JELLY TIME!! Our little secluded bird sanctuary waves these tiny dangling clusters, easy to reach with just a bit ot stretching upwards. Before we gather our chicken grapes we stand silent and adore them. Deep purple, they are, with a bloom on each globe that adds to its beauty. We carry them across our back yard and into our kitchen. We wash them, though they have already been cleansed by the two-day rain and the nightly dews. PULLING THESE small grapes from their rugged stems takes time, but tell me a better way to spend a few a few October hours! We cook them till tender, then into our special ricer where every seed and little jacket is removed. Now we have the pure, crimson nectar. (Why deep crimson when the grapes are purple? You tell me!) Next the purimpifiToThe big pan and adding sugar and cooking slowly for a longi\long time. I don't know libw long and i also do not know how much sugar My life is noLmcasinfed out "in little coffee spoons" and neither is my cooking I watched my mother and my grandmother cook. They never semed to need cups with numbers on them, nor slide rules and thermometers. They gauged their recipes by love and a built-in know how. I

guess. They wouldn’t fiddle around with home economics or blanching. A broom straw, wiped clean and inserted in their loaf cakes told them when to take them out and the heavenly aroma of the roasting chicken said, "I’m ready to put on your big platter and cool a bit and slice." Oh, yes, to those who "go by the books," O.K., you do it that way. But as for me. particularly with my jellies, I prefer stirring and tasting and prancing around our kitchen lining up the containers, probably humming, "How much do I love you" and thinking to myself: "Making jelly? I am rather pouring glory into little glasses!" Clare Campbell is a freelance writer and poet.